Food sovereignty and traditional seeds
The Ecoruralis Association
“There is food security when someone throws you fish. There is food sovereignty when someone gives you a fishing rod.“ Szőcs-Boruss Miklós-Attila - Ecoruralis
Video ▶Ecoruralis comprises over 1000 Romanian peasants who practice traditional and ecological agriculture. The Association is affiliated to the International Peasant Movement (Via Campesina), an international organization which brings together Romanian Peasants, South African farmers threatened by genetically modified monocultures or African people lacking lands and means for producing foods, under the umbrella of the “food sovereignty” concept. As opposed to governmental agricultural policies, based on the food security and food safety concepts, which are synonym to over-production and stiff regulations, the food sovereignty concept “makes sure that the rights to use and manage lands, territories, water, seeds, livestock and biodiversity are in the hands of those who produce food and not of the corporate sector.” (Via Campesina)
The food sovereignty concept is also tested hands-on by all Romanian peasants, as well as by the staff of the Association. The latter, together with the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine in Cluj and with the help of interns, cater for a garden of traditional seeds, intended for free distribution. The preservation of traditional varieties and their free circulation represent resilient practices supporting agricultural biodiversity and social sustainability, as well as food independence.
“There is food security when someone throws you fish. There is food sovereignty when someone gives you a fishing rod.“ (Szőcs-Boruss Miklós-Attila, Ecoruralis)